Dammit. It’s 12:45pm and I should definitely be asleep, but Chrissy has me feeling guilt at my lack of posting since she has finally also rejoined the LJ universe. So, an update!
The past few weeks have been a mix of terrible and great news. Three good friends have had close family members pass away, one very unexpectedly, two not so unexpectedly. Death is a private pain, so I choose not to disclose names, but you know who you are and I have been grieving for all of you. In the midst of all this loss, I’ve heard both good and bad baby news from several other close friends – two have just discovered they are with child (again, not my place to say who: they’ll announce in their own good time) and two have found they no longer are, alas.
I’m working a lot of overtime, and trying to make it out to birthday celebrations and other get-togethers as well. A lot of running fills in any random gaps in the schedule.
The Mississauga Marathon, where I hope to be running my first 21.5km half-marathon is in 2 weeks and I managed to injure my left hip somehow on last Sunday’s prep run on the course. After completing around 21km in 2hrs17mins, I’ve pulled or cracked or sprained something and am now going to see a sports therapist for physio on Friday. Was also persuaded by
Had the pleasure of several visitors from afar this weekend, including the impulsive yet intrepid Dave who flew up from New York on two days notice. I’m glad we got to spend a bit of Sunday afternoon together, reclining on a grassy knoll together with Lena, having a quiet, sunny picnic on the waterfront. I needed that time away from bad news and computer screens badly.
Have also begun to more seriously plan my 6 months off. So far, the schedule is shaping up like so: August – see Grand Canyon, Rockies then off to Casablanca, Morocco; September – from Morocco over to Egypt; October – to Turkey to visit Jen and see the Hagia Sofia, then over to Greece; November – possibly run the Athens Classic Marathon on November 4th, then rest up and get to Rome to meet Chrissy for a tour of Italy; December – over to Geneva to stay with Brett while he’s performing Mozart for Opéra de Genève in Switzerland, then home for my birthday on the 19th. January – hopefully sequestered away somewhere mountainous (BC?) to write and think before returning to work on February 1st.
So, that’s my life in brief. Sorry to have been away so long. Will post photos soon showing the last few weeks for folks that aren’t on Facebook so you can see where I’ve been and with whom.
So you’d be seeing Brett in Magic Flute?? Cool….my friend Jane from university is the Queen of the Night 🙂 She’s kick ass, so I look forward to a review 🙂
I have decided that since your travels will have you missing my 30th, Paul’s and a few others’, we should schedule some sort of big multi-birthday blow-out during the already-insane December party season. What say ye?
wow… I like to say that I like to travel but I must bow before a superior traveling force, measurable in duration, intensity and distance.
what’s the link to your facebook!?
You had better have both legs intact for the Muddy Buddy in August! I don’t want to have to pimp out a mud-worthy sled to drag you around in.
-B
Might I suggest that you do your travels in pseudo-reverse? Morocco and Egypt are REALLY EFFING HOT in the summer, so they may be best left for October/November rather than August/September. Especially since, if you’re going to Egypt, you really need to see Abu Simbel, which is just a hop away from the Sudan and is therefore REALLY, REALLY, REALLY EFFING HOT in summertime.
Oh, and here’s why you need to see Abu Simbel: it’s a pair of ancient, giant, mind-blowing temples carved into the side of a mountain on the orders of Rameses II. (You may remember Rameses from such works as “The Book Of Exodus” and its film version, “The Ten Commandments”). That in itself makes it worth the extra plane ride. But what really sells it is the fact that, when the area was to be flooded by the new Aswan Dam in the 1960s, they saved the temples by MOVING THE ENTIRE MOUNTAINSIDE.
Also, my Dad’s brother was the doctor on site during the relocation, which adds extra cool points. (You may remember said uncle from such events as “Amy & Paul’s Wedding,” at which he played the role of “The Priest.”)
just so you know, Cebu is beautiful in January. AND Sinulog is the whole second week of January (the fiesta itself is the third weekend, you should not miss out). AND you could stay there for free at my house and possibly volunteer at the international AIDS conference that my mom and aunt are likely organizing……
GO TO THE PHILIPPINES
that is all.
Hey, how long do you think you’ll be spending in Egypt? Not that I’m inviting myself or anything, but I’ve always wanted to go there…